by Jodi Kae
∞∞∞
Spooned in front of Jax, heat seeps into my bones. I don’t dare move for fear that this dream come true will float away into a puff of smoke and I will never find it again with anyone else. Communication by action is very effective and very enjoyable, but there is so much I want, no, need, to say.
“Love.......Are you okay?”
I nod my head because for some reason I am overcome with emotion and tears pool and spill over. I am afraid to say anything because he will hear the crack in my voice. Before I know it, I am on my back, and he is looming over me. He moves so quick that I don’t have time to hide my face, so I just blink through my watery vision to look at this gorgeous man.
“Oh my God, Tori. Did I hurt you?”
I shake my head this time and giggle a little. I probably look as stupid as I feel for crying over nothing.
“What’s wrong, Love?”
“I...I love you,” I whisper. Out of everything I need to say, this is the most important.
“And that is what’s wrong?”
The smirk on his face tells me he is just playing with me, but I have never said that to anyone except my family, so I am extremely emotional. Just to get back at him, I nod again.
“Oh, really.......I can’t find anything wrong with that. I have loved you since the moment I laid my eyes on you. I loved you the first time you curled your body into mine seeking warmth. I loved you when you climbed me like a spider monkey in the shower. I loved you the first time I tasted all that was mine, and I definitely loved you before you gave me what no other man has had. I love you when you play, smile, scream, cry and giggle because your face truly lights up to show your inner beauty.”
The waterworks has only gotten worse with that declaration, but at least I’m not making weird sobbing noises. Hopefully, I still look pretty. He leans down and kisses one eyelid and then the other, then the tip of my nose, softly on my mouth and moves to my ear.
“Tori, I love you. Now go to sleep and we will talk in the morning. You wore me out, and I want to have the energy to do that again tomorrow.”
He rolls me back to my side and pulls my back to his front, wraps his arm around my body and breathes softly in my ear.
“The House is no more, Love. Sweet dreams.”
Chapter Twenty
Crave:
*feel a powerful desire for something.
I wake up, and I’m ready. I see her, and I’m ready. I think of her, and I’m ready. I haven’t had this problem since I was a teenager. Come to think of it, even as a horny teenager; I never had this reaction to anyone ever. It’s her that has my mind and body out of control. Her declaration last night has my heart full and my body in claiming mode. I want to marry her, and have children with her, and take care of her for the rest of our lives.
My stomach growling wakes me for food. Sliding out of bed, I get dressed and head to the kitchen only to find a note from Ina.
“Voy a traer la comida.” (I will bring you lunch.)
Shit! Did she come to bring breakfast and hear us in the bedroom? Tori will be so embarrassed if she knows that someone heard her cries of passion. Needing to protect her feelings as well, I crumple the note and throw it away. I will just pretend that Ina didn’t come to feed us breakfast so I get busy making steak and eggs and then we will talk about our future.
∞∞∞
“Love......Come on, sit up. I need to feed you.”
I roll over feel aches in parts of my body that have never felt an ache before and last night comes rushing back to my memory. Looking up, I see my knight in shining armor looming over me, holding a plate of deliciousness. I could get used to this. Sitting up against the headboard, I slide over to make room for Jax. He slides in beside me and proceeds to feed me the best steak I’ve ever tasted.
“I’m going to send Derek and Serenity an email letting him know that I’m bringing you home.”
My heart stops beating. I thought we were okay and last night was my clean slate. What happened between last night and steak this morning? Oh my God! Was last night part of his closure? How can he tell me he loves me and then leave me? I feel the color drain from my face, and I think I’m going to be sick.
“Love, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”
“How could you?” I cry. “I thought we were okay now. Your actions don’t match your words, and now you are going to break my heart and leave me.” Tears are running down my face, and I don’t want him to see how badly he has hurt me. I try to turn away, but he stops me by pulling me onto his lap just as the plate crashes to the floor causing me to flinch.
“I don’t know what is going on in that head of yours, but I am not leaving you. I will never leave you. I just thought you would want to see your family now that the danger is gone. You have been begging me to take you home and I couldn’t until the threat to you was eliminated. I needed to protect you from The House and Sully before you could go back. I thought that this would make you happy, Love. I know your sister and dad are dying to hear from you and see you. Why are you so upset?”
Once again, I am judging him to be the bad guy based on words that I misunderstand. “I’m so sorry, Jax. Savage told me you left to find closure and every worst-case scenario played in my head. When you said you were taking me home, I thought you were going to leave me there without you. I will try harder to communicate better. It’s just that, for the last month, I have had no say or choice in what was happening to me, so this is an adjustment. Please be patient and don’t give up on me.”
“Never, Love, never.”
Ina brings us lunch around 1:00 pm and she and her kids along with Tito stay to eat with us. Ina keeps looking at me with a little smile on her face, but I don’t ask her anything in front of Jax for fear that I’m reading into things wrong. Jax tells her of our plans to go to the states in the next day or so and asks her to watch over his house. She does it anyway when he’s gone, but he says he doesn’t want to take advantage of her and her kindness. I don’t think Jax knows how much these people love him and feel indebted to him for saving the two village girls and Tito.
I keep to my routine of playing with the children and giving them lessons for today and plan for tomorrow as well. Jax keeps to his routine of touching me and making love to me every chance he gets. I have a craving for this man that won’t go away. I hope it never does, but for an inexperienced virgin, is this normal? Jax said we are leaving the following morning and will stop in Fort Walton Beach, Florida first so he can introduce me to his sister. I am excited and nervous at the same time to meet the only family Jax has left. Will she like me? I know my sister and dad will love Jax. How could they not? He saved my life. I am a wreck thinking of talking to my sister about all that has happened to us. I want to know every detail about how she escaped and found Derek. Jax assures me Derek is a good guy and that he knows Derek loves my sister. It is so weird to me that we were taken against our will for nefarious reasons, and found our soul mates in the process.
For some reason, I can’t help feeling as though a black cloud is following me and my Happily Ever After is still tied up in my nightmare. Jax assures me that I am safe, and I’m sure he wouldn’t lie about that.
∞∞∞
Ina made our dinner as well, and we invited Savage to stay and eat with us along with Ina and the kids. As soon as our guests leave, I can’t drag Tori to the shower fast enough. I need her naked and wet, and I plan to have what I need. She just giggles as I tear at her clothes when I can’t get them off fast enough. The bra is sexy, however, unnecessary and I think I might burn all of the ones Savage picked up for her. 1. I don’t like her wearing intimate items that another man purchased, even though I told him to get her a few things. 2. I don’t like her wearing anything that limits my access. 3. I don’t like her wearing intimate items that another man purchased. Once I am naked, I pull her into the tiny shower that I now love and proceed to re-enact our first shower experience. I know I own this woman, and she owns me.
&nbs
p; Chapter Twenty-One
Sustain
*strengthen or support physically or mentally. *Undergo or suffer something unpleasant
My anxiety has skyrocketed when we reach the river. Jax has promised he can swim well enough for the both of us, but I still hate being put in this position. I am clinging to my bright orange, ridiculously huge, over-inflated life jacket and the children on the bank are laughing their asses off and yelling.
“Usted es divertido, Amor.” (You are funny, Love.)
“Niños eso no fue chistoso.” Jax yells back. (Not funny kids.) He smirks so I know he thinks it’s funny too.
I only feel a little green by the time we make it to land again and Jax was very patient. He let Savage drive his boat so he could hold me the whole time. Once we got to the plane, I was waiting for the full-blown panic attack to set in and for them to have to tranq me again, but surprisingly, I was not as nervous. The flight to Fort Walton Beach took about four and a half hours and Jax was the pilot. I hope he knows what he’s doing. Savage doesn’t know how to fly but sat in the co-pilot seat to keep him company. At some point during the flight, I fell asleep only to be woken with soft lips pressed to mine. I look around to see that we have safely landed. I guess he does know what he’s doing.
He takes my hand, leads me off the plane and into a waiting car. Jax gives them an address and the driver leads us away from the airport.
“If you’re wondering why I didn’t take you to your family first, Snake told me that Derek and your sister are on vacation and I thought you would want to meet up with Ren first before you disclose anything to your dad. They are going to be back to Derek’s home in Boston in two days and your dad is staying with them so I figured we could go then if that’s okay with you?
“Yes, I think I need a few days anyway to retrain my brain to think and act for myself.” He looks at me sadly and I hope he doesn’t take that as an insult. I thank God every day for him. I know now why he had to lie and pretend to be a guard; I also know he did it for me.
“Just a fair warning, my niece and nephew are a little crazy and a lot busy. They are very excited to meet you and take you surfing.”
I gasp and whip my head to the side to catch him smiling. “I will not be going in the ocean, not even for adorable children, Jax.”
“But I will be with you, and you can wear a big orange jacket.”
“No, Jax. You will have to tranq me to get me on a skinny little board with no sides while my feet dangle in the water like shark bait.” He laughs out loud and I love the sound. “We have a house not far from here and as far back as I can remember, I have never gone any deeper than my knees in the ocean.”
“Who has a house, your family?”
“Yes, it’s our vacation home in Destin, Florida. It’s at 2343 West Scenic Highway 98. Serenity goes there all the time, even though I only go about twice a year. Maybe that’s where Derek and Ren went on vacation.”
“I will check with Snake and see if he knows, but for now, we just pulled up to my sister’s house so brace yourself.”
∞∞∞
Tori handled the introductions very well. I could tell that my sister loved her at first sight, and so did the kids. It must run in the family. Of course, the kids wanted to go surfing so Tori and Jana stayed on the beach while I went out again with Taylor on my board and Alissa speeding past us to show off for Tori. The sun is going down by the time my sister calls the kids in. As they race inside, Tori walks down to the waters edge and stands there with the water lapping at her toes. She has gotten some good color from sitting on the beach and it makes her yellow bikini stand out. Her bottoms just have tiny ties on the sides that hold the front and back together. The top is two tiny triangles that barely cover her perfect sized breasts also with strings holding it together. Damn, she is super model perfect. “Love, come here.” I pat my board and wiggle my eyebrows at her.
“No way, Jax. It’s dark and I’m not getting in the water.”
“Come on, Love; I can touch the bottom and I will hold us here in this spot so we won’t drift. It is not even as deep as your knees. Consider this a trust exercise.” I pat my board again and see it on her face when she has changed her mind. She wades out to me and I instruct her on how to straddle the board in front of me. Once she is stable, I reach forward and grab her legs, pulling them over mine so her body is tight to mine. She squeals a little as I wrap my arms around her to hold her steady and at the same time she latches on to my neck. Our bodies are fused from crotch to chest so I fuse my lips to hers for a full body connection. The second my tongue enters her mouth she relaxes into my hold and moans. I can’t move for fear of toppling us into the water so I am at her mercy and she gives none. Her movements become erratic. “Oh my god, I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Jax. I love you too.”
That night I let her have a reprieve. 1. We are at my sister’s house. 2. I don’t think Tori can be quiet. 3. I don’t think I can be quiet. We fall asleep in our usual spoon position.
Of course, the kids don’t let us sleep in and they are jumping on the bed begging to go surfing. I can’t say no to them with their dad away. If I can fill in for just a moment, it will be my pleasure. “Love, you can sleep in. I will only be out for about two hours. I love you. Dream of me.”
∞∞∞
How did I get so lucky? Somehow in the middle of my birthday nightmare, I found the perfect man. I can’t seem to get enough. Last night on the surfboard was so unbelievable. The second he touched me, my fear of the water disappeared and the only thing that mattered was pleasing my Viking God. I need to get up and take a cold shower.
After I’m dressed, I leave the guest room and almost run into Jana. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I need to watch where I’m going.”
“No, that was my fault. I’m rushing around trying to leave while Jax has the kids in the water. Anytime I can shop without them it saves me fifty bucks just not having to buy junk food. Hey, do you want to go?
“Yes, please. I need to grab a few things.” Jax has provided everything I need, but we didn’t talk much in the last two and a half weeks for me to tell him of my wants. I was kinda still brainwashed with the whole, “don’t ask for nothing,” mentality. That part of my life is behind me now, so I need to get back to normal. “Oh crap, I don’t have any money with me.”
“That’s fine; I will get it for you and Jax can settle up later.”
We leave for the store, hoping to get back before Jax gets the kids out of the water. “Jana, would it be alright if we drive by my family’s home in Destin? We have a vacation home just off of Scenic Hwy 98. I just need to see it and know that I am not still dreaming about being free.”
“Of course, Honey.”
She says that with such sympathy. I don’t know how much she knows about me, but I’m sure that she and Jax are close, so he has probably told her something.
It only takes about twenty minutes to get there, and as we pull down the street, my heart sighs in relief. I will ask Jax to bring me here tomorrow so we can walk on the beach.
“Do you want to stop?”
“No, it looks like it’s being rented right now. I don’t want to disturb anyone.” She turns the car around, and we head to the store.
As we walk up and down the aisles grabbing supplies for dinner, I remember I want make-up and face lotion, so I head in that direction.
“Can you call Jax to see if he needs anything? Here, use my phone and just call the home contact because I don’t think Jax has replaced his phone. Hopefully, they will be out of the water by now.”
I walk away looking through the phone and hit dial. It rings four times, and an answering machine picks up. “Jax, it’s Tori. Jana asked me to call and see if you need anything. Call us back. I love you.” I smile and hang up. Everything is right in my world. Tucking her phone into my bra, I go in search of beauty supplies.
“Fancy meeting you here, Pet.”
My blood freezes in my veins, and I a
m rendered motionless and speechless. Am I hearing things? Hallucinating? Jax said the threat was gone, that I was safe. A gripping hand clamps down on my shoulder, and something hard pokes into my back.
“Don’t you dare scream. I have been watching your house, and I know where Serenity is. I promise, that if you cause me any trouble, I can be to your house on the beach and have her throat slit before you can warn her. It was a stupid move going back there. I watched you drive by in the Land Rover and decided to follow you. It must be my lucky day. The two sisters who thought they could bring me down are nothing but a joke.”
Jax promised me that The House was no more. Was that just a half-truth meant to ease my anxiety? Maybe The House is gone physically but why would they leave the creator alive? The boss that Sir called Sully, pushes me towards the back of the store and through swinging doors meant for employees. We only pass one employee on the way to the loading dock doors. Tears are streaming down my face, but he says nothing as I walk back into captivity. Sully gets in front of me and grabs my arm to pull me roughly behind him. I look up so I can put a face to the name and see that his face is covered in bandages. There is gauze that covers the top half of his head and down one side of his face. The other side of his face is bright red as if he was burned. His entire left arm is also covered in gauze including his hand. As we near a black sedan, he pops the trunk and roughly shoves me inside. The trunk slams shut and I am encased in darkness. This may as well be my tomb because I’m sure I’m not getting out of this situation alive.
The phone between my boobs begins to vibrate. Oh my God! I forgot that I have Jana’s phone. I push the answer button, but the fear of being heard keeps me silent.
“Mom, we need you to get donuts and licorice,...Mom, did you hear me?”
Trying to keep my voice from shaking and also from being heard by Sully, I whisper. “Alissa, this is Tori. Where’s Jax?”